Mable's Smokehouse

Enter Mable's Smokehouse and you're not in New York anymore. Kansas City, Lubbock or Little Rock come to mind—places that are more likely to harbor such a big, rustic saloon. Long communal tables give it the feel of a mess hall. Overturned buckets and wagon wheels have been fashioned into lights, and a mounted deer head is affixed to one wall. This is the first restaurant from co-owner Jeff Lutonsky, an Oklahoma native, who named it for his grandmother, Mable. Her secret barbecue sauce recipe is almost as rich as caramel, and you may want to buy a bottle on your way out. And maybe a whole peanut butter pie since one slice is never enough. Locals have embraced it as a friendly T-shirt-and-jeans hangout where smoky brisket, pulled pork and St. Louis–style ribs taste authentic and don't set you back too much.

Enter Mable's Smokehouse and you're not in New York anymore. Kansas City, Lubbock or Little Rock come to mind—places that are more likely to harbor such a big, rustic saloon. Long communal tables give it the feel of a mess hall. Overturned buckets and wagon wheels have been fashioned into lights, and a mounted deer head is affixed to one wall. This is the first restaurant from co-owner Jeff Lutonsky, an Oklahoma native, who named it for his grandmother, Mable. Her secret barbecue sauce recipe is almost as rich as caramel, and you may want to buy a bottle on your way out. And maybe a whole peanut butter pie since one slice is never enough. Locals have embraced it as a friendly T-shirt-and-jeans hangout where smoky brisket, pulled pork and St. Louis–style ribs taste authentic and don't set you back too much.